T-Mobile Decides Its New Plans Are So Good That Even Its Older Customers Need One

T-Mobile has begun notifying some customers on its older plans that they need to switch to a newer one.

The first customers were notified by letter last week, with T-Mobile planning additional notifications in waves through the holiday season. The goal is for the transition to be complete next year.

“In line with our larger focus to change industry norms and simplify the wireless experience for customers, we are reducing our total number of rate plans,” T-Mobile said in a statement. “For the vast majority of customers, their new plan will provide similar or better features at a comparable price. Maintaining thousands of rate plans is the norm in the industry, but it creates unnecessary complexity. Simple is better.”

As a result of the changes, some customers may be able to exit their plans early. “However, we strongly believe that customers will see the benefits of these new plans,” a T-Mobile representative told AllThingsD. T-Mobile has been moving away from traditional phone subsidies and long-term contracts in favor of new options that typically include lower monthly service rates and the ability to finance device payments over two years.

The company has also announced other moves in recent months, including free and low-cost international roaming as well as Jump, a $10 per month plan which lets customers upgrade their phone as often as twice per year.

Just as the atom bomb was the weapon that was supposed to render war obsolete, the Internet seems like capitalism’s ultimate feat of self-destructive genius, an economic doomsday device rendering it impossible for anyone to ever make a profit off anything again. It’s especially hopeless for those whose work is easily digitized and accessed free of charge.

— Author Tim Kreider on not getting paid for one’s work

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